March 1st – St David’s Day

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If Trinity Church is anything to go by, a lot of people here in Abingdon have Welsh roots and still mark March 1st – St David’s Day – in some way. Some people may pin a daffodil or a leek to their clothes as these are symbols of Wales.
St David's Day
The Local Excellence Market was held yesterday in Abingdon. It was smaller than usual but vibrant. On the fruit and veg stall were lots of leeks. Most were as straight as those you might get at a supermarket. Others had grown with a distinct curve.
St David's Day
I came away with a very fine curving example. One traditional meal on St David’s Day is Cawl. It is a soup that is made of leek and other locally grown produce.

Leap Year Proposal

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Leap Year Proposal
I am not aware of any proposals made at the Happy to Chat Bench in Abingdon Market Place today.

A second, more secluded, Happy to Chat Bench can also be found at St Helen’s Wharf. Perhaps something happened there.

I did read of a leap year proposal in the British Newspaper Archive with the title ‘O, Tis Love! Tis Love! (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), from 1844.

At Abingdon, a youth named Robins was tried at the assizes for the unlawful abduction of Jane Willavize, a  “miss in her teens,” and the daughter of a rich farmer. The prisoner, a good-looking young man of 19, was the prosecutor’s under-carter ; and having won entrance into the heart of Miss Jane, her apartment was one night found empty. Robins’s room was also empty. The young folks in fact, had fled. 

The farmer was given a tip off and discovered them in private lodgings at Old Brentford, and gave the young man into custody, charged with abduction, the damsel being under age. At the trial, when examined, Miss Jane said the prisoner had found favour in her eyes, and they courted together secretly. It was not he who had proposed to run away with her. She proposed to him, this being a “leap year.”

The jury after hearing the story, convicted the prisoner of abduction, and the judge fined him ONE SHILLING which was paid immediately. The sentence was received with loud applause to the great scandal of the court crier.

Kennington Memory Club – 4 weeks to the Spring Sale

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Kennington Memory Club
The Kennington Memory Club is a local day centre where people with a diagnosis of dementia can meet in a safe, friendly, supportive environment for company and interesting activities. Its members come from a wide area round Kennington ,including Abingdon, Cumnor, Steventon and Bayworth.

Activities are tailored as much as possible to members’ interests and skills but a typical day might be:
• Arrival & welcome
• Hot drink & biscuits
• Gentle chair exercises
• Games e.g. Skittles or Mini Golf
• Lunch
• Memory games e.g. Higher or Lower
• Hot drink & biscuits
• Music quiz including sing-a-longs
Sometimes guests come and run specific activities e.g. Pets as Therapy dog, or playing music.
Kennington Memory Club
In four weeks, when Spring is here, they have a Sale in St Nicolas Church, Abingdon. I will give a reminder nearer the date.

For information about the club, either volunteering or having a taster session, visit their website https://www.kenningtonmemoryclub.org.uk/.

The school run accounts for a large proportion of rush-hour traffic

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school run
At ten past eight this morning, some snow was falling. I overheard some school pupils saying there would need to be more snow to settle. A biffa lorry collecting trade waste outside the Helen and Douglas charity shop did not hold up the slow flow of traffic. A man was positioned to throw the dozen bags in the back while the traffic waited in West St Helen Street.

Traffic is back to its normal school day pattern. Last week during half term there were much smaller queues. I read on a site called Walking to School, ‘The average drive to school and back releases 800g of CO2 into the air – enough to inflate over 60 balloons.’